1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a non-transitory computer readable recording medium that correct an imaging time that is supplementary information of each of plural images in such a manner that the images can be arranged in an order of actual imaging time in a case of arranging the plurality of images in the order of imaging time among the supplementary information.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photo book is a photo album that is created with a user's desired layout by selecting (extracting) and using a predetermined number of images from a plurality of images (image data) owned by a user. In recent years, an automatic layout function to automatically create a layout of each page of a photo book by automatically selecting and using a predetermined number of images from a plurality of images owned by a user, is provided.
In the photo book in the related art, for example, creation of a photo book of hundreds of images imaged in one event such as a trip or a wedding ceremony has been assumed. In contrast, in recent years, creation of a photo book as a commemorative album containing as large a volume as a thousand or a few thousands of images for a year is performed for the users who do not have enough time to create a photo book containing a large number of images.
For example, in a case of creating the photo book containing as large a volume as a thousand or a few thousands of images for a year, a possibility that the images (image data) imaged using one or more imaging apparatuses in which the time setting of the built-in clock is different as in the case of the images imaged by two or more types of imaging apparatuses having different functions such as a digital still camera and a camera on a mobile phone, the images imaged during an overseas trip without changing the set-time of the built-in clock, and the images received from the friends are mixed, is higher than in a case of creating the photo book containing a few hundreds of images in the related art.
For example, in a case of two or more different types of imaging apparatuses, there is a possibility that the time settings of the built-in clocks of each imaging apparatus are different. As in this case, an imaging time as supplementary information of the image imaged by at least one of the two or more imaging apparatuses having a different time setting of the built-in clock is different from the actual imaging time of the image. Similarly, in a case of the images imaged during an overseas trip without changing the set-time of the built-in clock of the imaging apparatus, at least one of an imaging time as supplementary information of the images imaged overseas and domestically is different from the actual imaging time of the image. The case is similar to the images received from the friends.
Therefore, in a case where the images imaged by one or more imaging apparatuses in which the time settings of the built-in clocks are different are mixed, even when arranging a plurality of images in the order of imaging time that is included in the supplementary information of the images, it is not possible to arrange the images in the order of actual imaging time of each image.
In this way, when there is a mismatch between the imaging time that is included in the supplementary information of the images and the actual imaging time of the images, there is a concern that it may not be possible to perform an automatic layout in a case of creating the photo book having a plurality of pages using the automatic layout function of the photo book, for example, by dividing the plurality of images into a predetermined number of groups of which the images are continuously imaged in a predetermined time duration based on the imaging time that is included in the supplementary information of the images, and extracting the images from each of the predetermined number of divided groups to extract a predetermined number of images as a total, and then using the extracted predetermined number of images.
For example, as described above, in a case where there is a mismatch between the imaging time that is included in the supplementary information of the images and the actual imaging time of the images, ordinarily, the images imaged in one event such as cake cutting in a wedding ceremony are classified in one group and are desired to be arranged in one page in the photo book. However, there is a possibility that the images imaged in one event may be arranged in separate pages of the photo book. In addition, in the layout of the photo book, there is a concern that the chronological order of the images may be disrupted.
As related art literature that are relevant to the present invention, there are JP2006-197316A, JP2007-97076A, and JP2007-519309A.
JP2006-197316A relates to a correction method of management data with respect to imaging data. JP2006-197316A discloses a method of correcting an acquired time of a plurality of imaged images by: sequentially counting the current time and thereby obtaining the acquired time of the imaged image; and measuring an elapsed time from the acquired time to the current time; and then associating the imaged image and the acquired time of the imaged image and the elapsed time from the acquired time to the current time; and then back calculating the elapsed time from the corrected time in a case where the correction is performed with respect to the current time.
JP2007-97076A relates to a method of correcting a imaging date for uniformly correcting the imaging date and time in the image data acquired by a plurality of imaging apparatuses. JP2007-97076A discloses a method of correcting the date and time data by: incorporating the image data having the supplementary date and time data that indicate the acquired date and time acquired by the plurality of the imaging apparatuses; and, from the incorporated image data, selecting all of the image data acquired by any one of imaging apparatuses among the plurality of imaging apparatuses; and then correcting the date and time data supplement for all of the selected images.
JP2007-519309A relates to a digital camera that stores date and time of each image incorporated in the digital image file. JP2007-519309A discloses a method of correcting the date and time value of the images by: setting up communications between a digital camera and a separate device that provides the current date and time value; and correcting the date and time value of each of a plurality of digital images imaged by the digital camera based on the difference between the built-in date and time value in the digital camera and the current date and time value of the separate device.